Reproba Letum
by celticgothhardy
Summary: Veronica has become a profiler with the BAU. Her first case brings her back home; the case having ties to those of the past.
1. Promo

Disclaimer: I do not own _Veronica Mars _or _Criminal Minds._

AN: This is what happens when I start finding movie trailers that people have done. (I was over in LXG. A lot over there.)

Second AN: The site doesn't allow for previews (which people go against, I will not however.), so this is the teaser. The story's after it, so they can't fault me for it.

_

* * *

JJ and Emily were standing next to JJ's desk, holding a case file open as they see the latest interviewee go into Hotch's office._

Emily: So what do you know about this one?

JJ (_looking at the folder): _Solved the murder of Lilly Kane, her best friend.

_Flashbacks to the body of Lilly Kane at poolside and her murderer, Aaron Echolls, who is fighting against someone.  
_

JJ: Later solved the bus crash, which the unsub also committed several other murders to cover up.

_Flashbacks to the cliff, Curly's body and Cassidy on the roof of the Neptune Grand, firing the gun._

JJ: Then solved the serial rape cases at her college.

_Flashback to Parker, and the rapist going after someone. Logan stopping him before the guy has a chance._

_In the conference room, with the group and one rookie in the form of Veronica Mars. _JJ: Over the past seven months there have been eight disappearances. (_Brings up the files on the screen._) Males between the ages of sixteen to twenty. All have dark brown hair and similar characteristics. (_Veronica looks up. A light bulb idea passes through her eyes; the only person lucky to catch it is Reid.) _All lived near or in a town called Neptune, located in California.

_Reid catches up with Veronica after the meeting._

Reid: What were you thinking about during the meeting?

Veronica: All the victims remind me of someone who's dead.

_Several members of the BAU and SWAT rush through a door that was knocked down. Several are announcing themselves. Veronica is moving along a corridor behind Morgan. Coming across a locked door, Morgan kicks it down. Both of them see inside._

Veronica: Oh my god.

_Veronica and Logan at Logan's new house. Logan's looking at Veronica like she's crazy._

Logan: You're joking. There's no possible way. _She wordlessly hands him a picture. Logan takes one look and slides down the way, covering his mouth. _How is this possible?

Veronica: I intend to find out.

* * *

What do you think? Is this a good idea? Please review and tell me. Hopefully, I can get it up soon.


	2. New Addition Gets a Test Run

Disclaimer: I do not own _Criminal Minds _or _Veronica Mars._

Summary: The BAU are on the hunt for a serial killer, and blow open old wounds for an new agent on the team. Crossover.

AN: I haven't caught up with _Criminal Minds_; so this may be off a little for canon. It's definitely not canon for _Veronica Mars_; it's a weird AU idea. Let's just say the events didn't happen like everyone thought.

* * *

Emily looked over at the latest agent to walk into of Hotchner's office. "So what do you know about this one?" she asked the woman next to her.

JJ looked at the folder she was holding. "Dad was sheriff of Neptune, California, until he accused the wrong person and got fired. Helped her dad's PI business, which she also frequently helped out and took cases herself. Solved the murder of Lilly Kane, her best friend. Later solved the bus crash, which the unsub also committed several other murders to cover up. She confronted him on the top of a hotel and after a struggle and an argument, the unsub jumped off the building. Then solved the serial rape cases at her college," she read.

"She's definitely qualified. Handled more cases than most rookies in their first year."

Reid had come up behind them, sneaking a peek over JJ's shoulder at the case file. "Veronica Mars, is that who Hotch's talking to now?" he asked.

"Yep," Emily piped, "Girl's better than half the FBI rookies."

"I'd say around three-quarters to ninety-nine percent," JJ added. The phone on the desk started ringing. "Agent Jareau," she answered. After a minute, she nodded. "Okay, thank you. Latest case is here." She walked out of the room to get the case files. Everyone headed to the conference room.

Hotch surprised the group, coming into the room with Veronica. "This is Agent Mars. She's going to be joining us for the case," he introduced. Veronica nodded and sat in the far back.

"This is new, Hotch," Morgan commented.

"With the surplus and the extra in the budget, BAU was granted another agent. I want to see what she can do."

Rossi walked in after JJ. "Is she one from the group you chose?"

"Yes, she seems the best qualified. I'm giving her a run to test her out."

"Well, this would be the case to test someone on," JJ commented. She set the files on the table and brought up a map of a city with virtual pins on the screen. "Over the past seven months there have been eight disappearances." She brought up eight pictures. "Males between the ages of sixteen to twenty. All have dark brown hair and similar characteristics." Veronica looked at the pictures of the kids. _Cassidy, they all look like Cassidy._ Reid looked over at her and noticed the change in her eyes before going back to JJ. "All lived near or in a town called Neptune, located in California. Their bodies were found in several different places."

"Why are they just telling us now?"

"Neptune is filled with influential people. If they don't want people getting into their business, they'll make it happen," Veronica input.

"How many of the kids come from wealthy families?" Reid asked.

JJ looked at the main file she had at hand. "These three. Simon Griffith, father is a prominent doctor, older sister is Hannah."

"Dr. Griffith was a witness to the alleged crime of the death of Felix Toombs. He was involved with the Fitzpatricks, a mob that was operating in town," Veronica added.

JJ brought up the next one. "Kevin Manning, he was visiting his uncle's family."

Veronica didn't have to dig deep for that one. "Uncle is a very religious man that turned him into a child abuser to enforce God's word into his children. He locked his daughter in a closet, tried to set up his oldest with a very religious man and sent the last daughter to boarding school."

"How do you know about these people?" Emily inquired.

"Hometown." _Used to be friends with Meg._

JJ brought up the last one. "Samuel Casablancas."

Veronica set her head in one hand. _Here comes the good stuff now._ "Is that the one related to Richard Casablancas, the one in jail for fraud?" Morgan asked.

"That's the one. His uncle."

Veronica started speaking. "He went by Big Dick, appropriate because he helped abuse his younger son. Same son was molested by Woody Goodman, little league coach and then mayor and then killed anyone that threatened to release the fact. Blew up a bus to that extent. Older son was nicknamed Dick as well, though he actually showed some sign that he cared for Cassidy. Younger son is dead, suicide."

"Okay, so we know that he has a type," Morgan pointed out.

"Male, late teens, thin build," Hotch started.

"Brunettes and they all seem to have similar face characteristics," Reid noted.

"It could be that he's going after a certain type. All of them look similar and he may be going after what he thinks is a close resemblance to his preferred victim," Veronica brought up. _It's almost Woody. Almost, he never killed his victims._

"If we can figure out the victim that the unsub actually wants, we may be able to figure out the unsub," Reid suggested.

"We leave in an hour. Should give Ms. Mars enough time to pack a bag," Rossi pointed out.

"I travel light. Have a bag already," she countered.

"Forty-five minutes. We don't have a lot of time. The unsub could already have another victim," Hotch broke in. Everyone left to get their bags.

Reid caught up with her in the halls. "Veronica," he called out.

She looked back at him. "What do ya need?"

"You had this fleeting thought. I noticed it in your eyes."

_He wasn't a genius for nothing. _"Just an idea. A far off idea that couldn't work."

"What were you thinking of during the meeting?"

"All the victims reminded me of someone who's dead. He was a victim of molestation and both he and the guy that committed the act are dead."

"Our victims fit a common person…"

"That is dead, along with the person that would have had something for him and anyone like him."

"It's still a lead."

"It's a dead lead." Veronica checked her watch. "We might want to be heading out."

She was about halfway down when he called back. "What happens if it's not a dead lead?"

She turned back to him. "Well, the people that would be the lead are dead, so it is a dead lead."

* * *

Sorry about taking so long. First school, then me finding Torchwood, then me finding a bunch of stuff to read, watch and catch up with. This is what happens when I don't have internet at home. I lose myself when I get it back.

Oh well. Review please.


	3. Guide to Tech Savviness

Disclaimer: Yeah, still don't own either show.

This may take me a while. I have way too many stories going. You do not want a count.

AN: Thank you to all that reviewed. Here's the chapter that you've been waiting for.

* * *

On the outside, Veronica was stoic. On the inside, she was giddy. _Oo, comfy. And no aisle seats._ She sat near the middle of the plane and pulled a couple of the files toward her. She was planning on going through the details on at least two before getting to the town. However, her body resisted the attempts to concentrate and she fell asleep to the humming of the plane's engines.

Reid watched until she went asleep before going to talk to Hotch. He took the folders on her lap and placed them on the table before sitting down across from him. "What do you need, Reid?"

"Veronica has a possible lead. Only she doesn't think that way."

"What is it?"

"The victims are possibly modeled after someone. Veronica says he's dead and he was also a victim of molestation, the perpetrator of which is also dead."

"Did she tell you who the victim and the perpetrator were?"

"No. Do you think it may be family, friends…"

"Or something else. Ask her about the people and anyone related to them. We'll look into the possibly that the unsub is someone connected to these people."

"I'll ask her when she wakes up."

"We should find out about the town and the connections throughout the town. We'll need Veronica more for connections in the town. Get together with the officers in the town that will know the backgrounds of anyone that will fit the profile."

"All right." Reid moved to go back to Morgan and the card game. "What could the something else be?"

"Possibly the people aren't dead."

"We should find out how the people died."

"See if there's any possibly that they're alive?" Hotch nodded. "I'll leave a note for Veronica; we can go over this in the police station while you guys go to the drop zone." He nodded again as Reid wrote a quick note on the folder before going back to the game.

CM VM CM VM CM VM CM VM CM VM CM VM

"Welcome to Neptune. Sheriff Keith Mars, this is Deputy Borne," Keith introduced, meeting up with the team as they headed into the building together.

"Special Agent Hotchner, these are Agents Rossi, Jareau, Prentiss, Morgan, Reid and Mars," Hotch reciprocated, everyone raising a hand as their name was called. Veronica lightly waved.

"Do you have a large space for us to set up in?" Rossi asked.

"We have a separate room for you to store anything that you need to keep away from the public eye for a while. The lobby of the station can be quickly turned into a conference area."

"How many patrol officers do you have?"

"Five official patrol, three deputies and me," Keith listed. He pointed to the room. "There are two boards, ready for you."

"Thank you," Hotch simplified. "Emily, Morgan, get the SUV ready. We'll take an officer to look at the drop zones."

"Right, Sheriff Mars, perhaps you can help us with some of the background on the people in this town," Reid directed, heading to the room with Veronica.

"Sure, what exactly do you need?"

"Actually, that's what I need help from you and Veronica on. Veronica mentioned that the victims reminded her of a former resident of Neptune." He closed the door behind them.

"Who?" Keith looked at Veronica.

"Cassidy Casablancas."

Keith looked at some of the photos of the victims. "Now that you mention it."

"Okay, so the victims remind you of Cassidy Casablancas. What's the backstory?"

"Cassidy was part of the little league team that Woody Goodman coached. He sexually assaulted several members of the team. During high school, two of the members were going to come forward. He blew up the bus carrying them and several others. Most died; one survived in a coma but eventually died as well," Veronica informed.

"This is the bus crash? He also committed several other murders as well, right?"

"Yes."

"What about Woody Goodman?"

"When alive, he was the owner of the Sharks and a chain of fast food places."

"Goodman's wife has taken over. She has been looked at several times for child abuse for the son since the father died. Gia was sent to a private school and now she's at a college in South Carolina. Business wasn't as affected as it should have been," Keith added.

"Okay, why don't we start with Goodman's friends? Was he part of a pedophile group online?"

"We'll have to go through his stuff again. We took the computer in evidence, but didn't go through it for the information you are thinking of."

"Okay, we can hook it up to the internet and have Garcia hack it. Anything more on the Casablancas?"

"Father's in jail. What about Dick?" She looked over to Keith.

"Child support, on the surfing circuit part-time, finished school and majored in business. He may be trying to make up for the family and try to take over to make things right."

"Dick?" Keith nodded. "Wow, that's something I didn't expect."

"Mother married someone else and didn't care anymore. Dick's trying to change his life around."

"Okay, are any in the families likely to kill someone?"

"From my point of view, no, none would be capable," Keith answered.

"Okay, we have a basic view of what the unsub wants."

"Young males that could be anywhere from thirteen from twenty, brunette with slight frames. We don't have a connecting place, activity or person until we check out the families," Veronica started.

"Why don't we set up the computer so Garcia can start on something that might lead us to a couple of possible suspects?"

"I'll go get the computer," Keith decided, leaving them.

"Great idea; when will the others be getting back? I noticed a couple of things about the bodies. Are we sure they weren't sexually assaulted? They seemed to be positioned that way," Veronica noted.

"They're positioned that way, but no clothes were missing. Also, there weren't any stains in the areas."

"Could the murders be sexually motivated? Like sexual frustration, subs…"

"That might actually be a good idea. We should try coming up with possible ideas. If he's sexually motivated, he may be using someone else for the intercourse and taking out the murderous traits on someone else." Keith came back in with a hard drive and the keyboard. "One of the deputies is getting the monitor, mouse and cable for the connection."

"Thank you." He turned to Veronica. "Here's your first taste of Garcia."

"Welcome to the Lair of Tech Savviness; I will be your guide through it all."

"Hey ya, Garcia."

"Reid, what can the guide of Tech Savviness do for you?"

"Well, let me first introduce you to Veronica Mars, our newest recruit."

"Veronica Mars, girl, you are the one of the hardest people to find on the internet. Did you do a sweep?"

"I may have asked someone to do one for me and someone else."

"Go girl. All right, Reid. What else do you need?"

"A hard drive check for pedophile rings. We'll hook up the hard drive to the internet; you get entire control and we'll have someone to help you here."

"Oh, Reid, you're too good to me. But pedophile rings?"

"We may be looking at someone in one of those rings. They may fit the profile."

"I will get on that, and Miss Mars," Garcia started. Veronica gave a small noise to indicate she was listening. "We will be talking on who did that for you when you get back. Do you copy me?"

"Oh, I copy you."

"Guide of Tech Savviness is out."

"Well, let's get some food so we can work out the unsub," Reid figured.

"Okay, as long as it isn't Woody's Burgers."

* * *

I'm really sorry I took long.

Yes, things may be off in character and procedure of the BAU. Please tell me and I will try to fix it as best as I can.

I will try and get more Veronica Mars characters in my later chapters. And not just the ones included in the case.

Please comment or review. Thank you for reading.


	4. A Visit and a Photo

Disclaimer: I don't own the shows. My first name wouldn't even be found near them.

* * *

"Okay, so going over the autopsies again, you've spotted some things," Emily started. Take-out containers were being thrown as the files were brought back on the table. The photos of the victims were up on one of the boards. Veronica brought out the autopsy reports of the bodies.

Veronica laid out Samuel Casablancas's photos and the report. "The coroner reported that the victims were suffocated. Yet, none of them have stains on their clothes. Eight victims and none ejaculated. Also, they were placed the wrong way," she listed, pointing out the bruises, "These don't correspond with anything hitting them. The pattern is too wide, too uniform. It would come from lying down. I think he may have had sex or possibly raped these boys before killing them."

"He's changed their clothes. We're going to the families tomorrow, we should ask about the last things they were wearing," Emily pointed out.

"It may be a good idea to ask about their gender orientation. If they were confused or if they were gay or bi," Morgan added.

"Reid, contact the coroner, have him recheck the bodies still there. Veronica, go with JJ and Emily. They may be more willing to talk to you," Rossi finished.

"Let's get some sleep. Start fresh in the morning."

CM VM CM VM CM VM CM VM CM VM CM VM

Paper stuck to the door has never brought anything good for Veronica. Three notes on the door provided more chance of a note being bad. One she recognized as her dad's handwriting.

_Veronica,_

_How about catching up? I haven't seen you in six months. Hopefully you can see me before you leave._

_Dad_

The second letter held some well wishes.

_V,_

_I should have known you would only come back because of a case. Same old, same old. _

_How about some time to reconnect? The 5 year reunion wasn't that good for us to talk. Maybe sometime after the case, before your father and the flight._

_Hope you like FBI work._

_Logan_

"It was your fault for being with the possessive bitch at the time. If you could have dumped her for ten minutes." The third was weird.

_Ronnie,_

_What's up?_

_Dick_

"What?" She let herself into the room and collapsed on the bed. She pulled her computer out to check e-mail before sleeping. Going through most of the junk mail, she found a birthday notice from her Facebook account and noted that Mac's birthday was that week. "Well, I'm here; I should drop her off something." Nothing was new on her MySpace or her Facebook, so she powered down her computer and went to sleep.

CM VM CM VM CM VM CM VM CM VM CM VM

Five o'clock in the morning is not a good time for Veronica. Her cell phone vibrated, but she couldn't tell the difference between it and the table. She fumbled for a minute before answering. "Mars," she mumbled.

"Rise and shine. We have another body and the people haven't started swarming us yet. Reid's going to be over to get you in five minutes," JJ announced.

"All right, I'm up." She sat up in her bed. "Drop zone, I wonder who it is now."

The crime scene was a few miles from the shoulder of a road into town. Crime scene tape was around a big chunk of the ground and several techs were still going over areas. Hotch was walking over a couple of areas. "Hey, do we know who the victim is?" Reid asked.

"No ID, as usual, and he doesn't match any of the missing persons reports," Rossi listed. Veronica tiptoed around the tape to look outside for anything.

"Matches our other victims. Male, teens, brown hair and more on the lean side."

Veronica walked about fifty feet away when she spotted footprints near a tree. She lit her flashlight near the base to find a wet substance on the bark. "I don't think this is normal for trees or teens," she called back. Prentiss was the one to get to her.

"Did anyone check the surrounding area of the drop zones for something like this?" she yelled back to the officers processing the scene. Snippets of no's came back to their ears. "Okay, so this could be the killer's DNA. Anybody coming over?"

Veronica looked over her to see one running out to meet them with a few swabs. "They sent someone." They both moved back so that the tech could get to the stain. "Could it be possible that he's reliving the experience?"

"Either that, or he's masturbating to the dead body."

"So, our guy can be very disturbing."

"People won't start coming until they start jogging. We should have someone stand in the crowd and take pictures."

"Use a cover as a reporter. Two people, one to take notes on who's there and another as photographer to catch the scene."

"Good idea. Probably a bad idea to use you. People would recognize you right away."

"The guys should be the ones. JJ, you and I are going the victims' places; the guys aren't in contact with the town much and won't be recognized."

"Let's bring it up." They walked back to the main area. "All right, so here's an idea."

"Two of the guys stay back to photograph the crowd that will show up and write notes on what they say, ask or anything unusual," Prentiss finished.

"You think the unsub will come back?" JJ asked.

"He's voyeuristic, and may want to come back to relive the crime," Prentiss noted.

"That and he may want to come back and see how far we've gotten. It fits with the careful side of him. There's been no DNA, clothes have been changed," Reid pointed out.

"All right, who stays behind?"

"Veronica, JJ and I have interviews with the families," Prentiss explained.

"Let's change the orders. Morgan, coroners. Reid, you and Prentiss play reporter. Veronica, JJ, you and I will be interviewing the families," Rossi reassigned.

"I'll stay here to keep the unsub from becoming suspicious," Hotch added.

"All right, let's get to it."

CM VM CM VM CM VM CM VM CM VM CM VM

They started with the worker class first. "Mrs. Simmons, I'm Agent Rossi. This is Agent Jareau and Agent Mars."

"Please, come in." She stepped aside to let them in. "Agent Mars, are you related to Sheriff Mars?"

"He's my father."

"Oh, Veronica. Maybe you can figure this one out. Please, can I offer you something to drink?"

"No thank you. We were wondering if we could talk about your son."

"Jim, he was a wonderful boy. Cross-country, track, basketball."

"Do you know where your son was the night he disappeared?" JJ asked.

"Meeting some friends."

"Were they friends from school?"

"A few were, couple were from online."

"Where online?"

"He said they were from a gaming site. I knew better. He dated a girl last year, but she wasn't the one. He met a boy online and started dating him. He was on a site that helps gay and bisexual teens meet. I just told him to be careful. Some of the people seemed older than the site allowed."

"Could we have the address for this site?" JJ asked.

"I'll have to get on his computer."

"That's fine, I'll come with you."

The next two visits came up with the same web site on the victims. "Could it be possible the unsub's picking kids online? It could be just this site, but he might have two or three as backups," Veronica pointed out.

"He would have to live nearby so he could check out his victims," Rossi added.

"He's sure to show up at the latest drop zone today. Hopefully Reid and Prentiss have something," JJ stated.

"Let's get the pictures and notes after we connect all the victims to a site."

CM VM CM VM CM VM CM VM CM VM CM VM

"We have connected all of the victims to one site," JJ announced.

"I've gone over it. It's a website dedicated to helping gay and bisexual teens that feel trapped by their surroundings. It gives advice on how to set up meetings at places, how to make it look like it's just a meeting of friends. There's a message board that's broken down into areas. It's only supposed to let kids seventeen and younger join, but they have had problems with older people joining with fake addresses," Garcia lectured. They surrounded the table with two TV monitors that had the pictures being scanned by Reid and Veronica.

"How's it going on the pictures?" Morgan asked.

"There are no teens and or family members that are potentials for this," Reid gave, "What about the bodies?"

"After checking again for sexual intercourse, a few had DNA from an unknown donor in their pubic hairs that hadn't been washed. It's being sent up to the state lab to be tested with the donor from the tree this morning. A few had bruised anal cavities, but nothing that would constitute rape."

"Okay, so our unsub picks his victims off of an online site," Rossi started.

"He's local, given the choice of victim and the type of site," Hotch added.

"He convinces them at some point to come with him. He's experienced, so they want to learn, and that's why they go with him," Prentiss combined.

"He has sex with them and murders them. He dumps them in different areas, cleaned with different clothes. He masturbates to the bodies and possibly comes back to relive the crime," Reid finished.

Veronica was still going through the photos. She spotted a man with glasses and a hat on. "Hey, suspicious male, toward the end of the line." She highlighted the area and zoomed in.

"Garcia, could you please enhance that part?" JJ asked. A few minutes later, an enhanced version showed up on the scene. _No, it couldn't be._ Veronica printed off the enhanced version. "Veronica, what is it?"

"Give me a second please. I need a second confirmation." She walked out to the main area and found her Dad's office. "Is this who I think it is?"

He stared at the picture for a minute. "I can't believe this. Is this an old photo?"

"That's from today."

Reid came up behind them. "What's going on?"

"We need a second photo to confirm this, without his sunglasses and hat on." She pointed at the man she had pointed out before. "This is Woody Goodman."

* * *

Review please.


	5. Confirmation

D: Do you really think I own _Criminal Minds_ or _Veronica Mars_?

AN: Also, I may be fudging a little bit here.

* * *

Reid stared at her. "You said Woody Goodman was dead. Isn't he dead?"

"Not according to this picture. It could be a double that we don't know about, but we have to double check." Veronica went back to the meeting room.

"What was that about?" Rossi asked.

Veronica was busy trying to find another picture, so Reid answered for her. "A potential suspect that was thought to be dead may not be dead."

"Which suspect?"

"Woody Goodman."

"It was reported that Goodman died in the transport that blew up," Hotch noted.

"I know, he was supposed to be on the plane," Veronica mumbled. Reid heard her but didn't comment.

"If Goodman's alive, then do we add him to the possible list to check against our profile?" Prentiss asked.

"If Goodman's alive, then we may not need the profile. More or less likely, it's him," Veronica added, "I can't get a picture without his sunglasses or hat on. I have pieces, but no full picture."

"Do you think you have enough pieces to form a puzzle?" Garcia asked.

"I have seventy-five percent of both sides of his face."

"We can put them together for enough of a comparison to a picture of him. Send me what you got." Veronica attached the pictures she found to send in an email. "Got 'em. Give me a couple of hours."

"From what I know, Goodman molested the Little League team he coached. Aren't these victims a little old for him?" Morgan asked.

"He could have followed one of the kids. He could have become attached and never went back to the younger kids," Rossi argued.

"Cassidy," Veronica mentioned, "Cassidy Casablancas was on the little league team that Goodman coached. All of these victims have similar characteristics to him."

"We need to talk to anyone that would know Woody more intimately. Did we get anything off of his computer for groups?" JJ asked.

"This guy had a clean computer. Nothing that gave into his taste. No photos, groups, interest, bookmarks of mention. This guy was clean on his computer."

"Would anyone know possibly what he did? Are any of the kids still here?" Rossi brought up.

"Most if not all would be in college by now. I can't name…" Veronica stopped. "There might be someone. He wasn't part of the team, but he did have one on one time with Woody."

"Do you think he'll talk to us?" Morgan questioned.

"Yeah, he shouldn't be too much trouble." Veronica stepped back out to talk to her Dad. "Hey, do you know where Logan lives?"

"Logan, yeah, he sold his father's house and moved into Griffith's old house. His sister occasionally stays with him. How did you know he was still in town?"

"Left me a note last night. Didn't actually say where to meet if I wanted to catch up with him."

"He left you a note."

"You, him and Dick, which is the one I'm curious about."

"So am I. Dick wasn't that nice to you in high school."

"He got better in college."

"Huh, why are you asking about Logan?"

"He won that contest a few years ago that had the complete day with Goodman. I figured he would have spotted something during the day."

"If you say so. Were there any good photos?"

"No, Garcia's making a composite of several that have him in them. Oh," she realized, lightly slapping herself, "forgot the notebook. May have gotten some notes on him." Keith shook his head as she went back to the room.

CM VM CM VM CM VM CM VM CM VM CM VM

"I'm on this alone?" Veronica asked as she sat in the SUV with Rossi and JJ.

"He's more likely to talk to you," Rossi confirmed. Veronica nodded and stepped out. She walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell.

It took a couple of minutes for him to get to the door. "Veronica, you've solved the case already?"

"No, I need to ask you about Woody."

"Okay." He walked back into the hall, with Veronica following. "What about Woody?"

"When you were with him during that contest day, did he seem overly interested in your body?"

"Veronica, are you asking if he hit on me?"

"Yes, yes, I am." Veronica moved to a chair, but didn't sit just yet.

"This is for the case?" Logan plopped down on the couch across from her.

"Yes."

"How is this for the case?"

"You're not going to go on a rampage, are you?"

"Why would I?"

"Just please tell me you won't go on a rampage."

Logan chuckled and kept both hands in front. "I will not go on a rampage."

She sat down. "We're about ninety percent sure that Woody's alive. The other ten percent is going to be confirmed by DNA."

"Woody," he repeated, sitting up and leaning forward, "alive. How is that possible?"

"We're going to ask him that when we find him."

"He blew up. Cassidy blew up that plane."

She sighed. "I've been going over this. It may be possible that he paid someone to take his place. I don't know whether or not he knew that the plane was going to blow up."

"I wouldn't put it past him to know the entire time what Cassidy had been doing."

Veronica rubbed her temples. "This is going to get complicated."

"You have no idea." He rubbed his hands. "Back to the topic. You want to know if Woody hit on me, why?"

"You answer the question and I'll tell you why."

"He grabbed my bicep and told me about getting the girls. I guess it could be construed as hitting, as I did feel kind of uncomfortable. "

"Do you think he would be into kids in their teens?"

"Yeah, he was hitting on a couple of the kids at the trip to the stadium."

Veronica was staring at him. "Wait, he was doing that and you didn't say anything?"

"He was harassing Cassidy when I found them. His left hand was rubbing his inner thigh while his right was on his neck. He threatened me, then realized it wouldn't work on me, so he threatened Cassidy. He choked him until I agreed. I asked Mrs. Dumas if I could take him out early, but she said no. Eventually, I got her to agree on letting him take the limo home with Dick. He faked being sick. She watched over him during the rest of the trip."

"You never told anyone this? Logan that may have proven that he couldn't do plant the bomb. It was planted at the stadium; it wasn't possible at the school. Where was Woody during this?"

"Most of the time, he was going around talking with us, but for a few minutes, he went out. Wait, how come you didn't notice this?"

"Too busy arguing with Meg and a couple of the girls. They were berating me for being with you."

"Prime detective you are."

"Hey, I didn't know there would another mystery so soon. We had just figured out Lilly's killer." They shared a silent moment. "Maybe it wasn't him."

"What?"

"Maybe Cassidy wasn't responsible for everything. You just proved that he couldn't have planted the bomb. A bomb threat was called in for the bus that was to take the journalism trip. They checked all the buses night before and the actual bus beforehand. They checked us. They couldn't check at the stadium. That's when it was planted. Was he alone for a period of time?"

"Woody pulled him away as soon as the lecture was done. I didn't see either of them until I found him harassing Cassidy."

"Woody may have been with him the entire time. The time he left is when he planted the bomb."

"Veronica, you talking as if it was Woody. Cassidy was behind all of it. He admitted it."

_But it's not adding up anymore. Woody had opportunity, not Cassidy._ "I'm not sure anymore."

"With all this talk, neither am I."

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"DNA confirms it; Woody Goodman is alive," Morgan announced, holding up a stack of papers. "He was also on all the victims. He was the one having intercourse with them."

"So, Goodman's alive and he's our unsub. How do we spread this?" JJ brought.

"We can put out a vague description. Give out approximant age, height, weight. We don't know how he looks now," Rossi started.

"He's careful about leaving behind things. May come back if he's left something," Hotch added.

"He's calculated. He's been going after kids through the internet. He doesn't seem dangerous when you meet him. But he can become cold if you mention something off," Reid added.

JJ was writing all of this down, along with her own notes. "Anything we should add?" She looked over to Veronica.

"If he's anything like Aaron Echolls, he won't be taken in easily. And he may already another victim."

"We may have a hostage situation," Morgan voiced.

"We need to find him soon. JJ, how soon can you get that out?" Prentiss asked, pointing at the paper.

"We can try for a conference in ninety minutes. Getting the room set up should take about an hour and everyone we need should be in time."

"Right, JJ, tell the sheriff to start prepping the area. We should also set up an area to gather tips in," Hotch assigned.

"Hotch, we'll cover that," Reid grabbed, pointing at Prentiss and Veronica before heading out into the main area.

"Reid, what are you thinking?" Prentiss asked.

"The deputies could be the ones covering this. We should be going over more characteristics that he has," Veronica pointed out.

Reid turned around to her. "I want to go and suggest a crazy idea. I want to look up people manually, ones that have been around in the last five years and check their names against aliases that he used before."

"Maybe we can compare those that seem likely to the tips. That's a good idea," Prentiss praised.

"But we don't know if it's the list of aliases that he used before. For all we know, it's just an anagram of his name," Veronica commented.

"Oh, I know this anagram generation from online we could use," Prentiss added.

"Let's get going."

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Six hours after the conference, there had been 9000 calls concerning tips on to where a possible match. They filtered 50%, counting them as nuisances and pranks. Another 30 to 40% was discounted as uniforms went out and talked more in-depth to the tipster and the object of the tip. Five percent actually showed promise as unknown witnesses came forward about seeing the kids with males that matched the description. Going back to the places that these were reported at, a third of the stores still had the footage and showed Woody walking out with the victims.

"How come we didn't get this before?" Veronica asked as they pulled out the sixth video they've gone through.

"Site wouldn't release the messages of the kids and we didn't have access to their email accounts," Reid mentioned.

"How come some of their friends didn't know?"

"Good point." They didn't get any farther on watching the videos, as Hotch came into the room.

"A man by the name of Don Gao-Doymow matches the psychological and physical description of Woody Goodman," he announced.

Prentiss looked over the sheet of name anagrams they came up with. "That's one of the names."

Reid looked over at Veronica. "That was fast."

"Do we have an address?"

"Yes, Morgan, JJ and Rossi are suiting up."

"Let's go catch him."

* * *

Now, it's off to Woody's house. Review please as I write what they encounter there.


	6. Another Reproba Letum

D: I don't own either show. All right?

* * *

Hotch was out first. Rossi and Prentiss were right behind him. Veronica and Reid were finishing strapping on their vests when he started talking. "We don't know if he's in the house. Thermal scan could not penetrate a few of the rooms. Most of the rooms are in the basement, but there is one in the second story and two on the ground. Morgan, Veronica, you two take that one. Reid, you and JJ will take one and Prentiss and I will be taking the other one on the ground. Uniforms and SWAT are taking the basement with Rossi."

"Has there been any report of another victim?" Prentiss asked.

"No, but that doesn't mean he won't take whoever's in there hostage," Rossi added. They all nodded and brought out their guns, taking off the safeties before heading inside. Veronica and Morgan headed upstairs.

JJ and Reid were the first ones to the bedrooms. On JJ's count, they opened the door to see a man sleeping in the bed. He jumped up and held up his hands when they came in. "FBI, please get off the bed and get dressed," JJ ordered. She watched and noted a few tattoos running on his arm. "Reid, does this guy look familiar?"

It took him a minute to place the face. "Evan Houst, runner for the Makilau Family down in South America. He's been on the list for six months. Nobody could find him."

"We found him. I wonder why Goodman's helping him out."

"Let's check with Hotch and Rossi; they may have someone else." JJ handcuffed Houst and led him out into the hallway. Rossi was coming the other way with Gerald Fitzpatrick. "I thought the Fitzpatricks were all in jail or dead."

"Someone survived the wipeout. He was in the other bedroom. Houst?" Prentiss noticed, looking at the man they walked out.

"Gun runner and drug runner. What else does Goodman have up his sleeve?" JJ pondered.

A crackling came to their ears. "You guys might want to get down here," Rossi broadcasted. They all looked at each other before going down to the basement. Rossi was standing in front of the open door of one of the basement rooms that thermal couldn't penetrate. Behind him were officers going through crates. In the room he was standing in front of, there were crates full of packages. "Several tests confirm drugs. Left is cocaine, right is heroin."

Keith came up behind them. "One other room has drugs. Two others have guns."

"That's how he's paying for all this. He's still a player in the game," Reid said.

"He had to have planned this. Cassidy Casablancas couldn't have been in control of the situation and blowing up the plane. He would have had to have known that he would be blowing up the plane. Otherwise he wouldn't have made the switch," JJ brought up.

"Where are Morgan and Veronica?"

"Maybe they found something and they're checking it out."

Morgan came down the stairs just after they said that. "Trust me, guys, we found something."

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The bedroom was all the way down the hall. Morgan was leading with Veronica right behind him. The door was bolted twice from the outside. Morgan removed the locks while Veronica kept stance. He tried the knob. "No go, must still be locked on the inside," he whispered. He positioned himself to kick in the door. "FBI, we're coming in." He kicked the door down.

Veronica was the first to see him. He was curled into a ball, his head protected by thin arms. He was wearing jeans and a blue t-shirt. There was a chain running from his left ankle, on which there was a manacle, to the wall. He lifted his head to see the people that had come in. "Oh my god." _He looks the same. Exactly the same._

"There weren't any missing reports. Who is this kid?"

"He's not a kid. And there wouldn't be any reports of him. He was reported deceased just over five years ago." Morgan looked at her for the last part. "This is Cassidy Casablancas."

"All right, I'm going to get EMTs up here." Rossi's message came over their radios. "I also tell them about him." He exited the room.

_Great, leave me alone with the guy that almost killed me. _"Okay, is there a key I can use to get you out of that?" she asked, putting her gun away. He shook his head. "Okay, maybe there's something I can use to pick at the lock."

"You don't carry the tools you used to use?" he asked, watching her as she moved around the room. _This is weird. He's talking to me._

"No, I gave the PI stuff up when I started working for the FBI." She spotted a pen on a desk. "He allowed you a computer?"

"Finished high school and an online college. He doesn't trust me unless he's over my shoulder."

"Do you at least know what's been happening?" She started taking the pen apart and came over to the bed with some of the pieces.

He moved over to let her on. "He likes to gloat me with the details. Logan's a producer, Dick had a kid and Mac's got a fiancé. Everyone's done better since I've been gone."

"Mac wasn't. Dick wasn't. Logan wasn't. Mac couldn't date anyone else. Dick cried and confessed to Logan and Logan wasn't all that happy during college." She wiggled the ink tube until she heard a clink.

"What about you? And Wallace?" EMTs started to come into the room. Veronica moved off the bed to allow them access.

"Wallace did college ball before getting into mechanical engineering. He's working for the company that's building the Three Rivers Dam in China." The EMTs wrapped him in a blanket and walked him downstairs. Veronica met up with the team just outside the house.

"Who was that?" JJ asked, turning to Veronica.

"Cassidy. One of Woody's original victims."

"Isn't he supposed to be dead also?" Reid asked.

"Yeah," Veronica simplified.

"All right, Goodman wasn't here. That might mean he's picking up his next victim. Let's hook up his computer so Garcia can track where he's been. It's possible he's hooked up with his latest victim," Prentiss brought up.

"It may already be hooked up. I'll stay behind to help her out," JJ volunteered.

"Veronica should be the one to go with Cassidy. She'll be the one he's most comfortable with," Hotch mentioned. Veronica nodded and entered the ambulance. "Reid, see if you can find anything on what he's going to do if we try to catch him."

"I'll talk to Garcia and see if we can't track his cell phone or anything else on him."

"Morgan, stay behind and go over the evidence when they start going through. We need some indication on how he's getting his victims."

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Morgan got up to the bedroom just as JJ had Garcia patched through. "Hey, I got his number from one of the runners," he notified, handing a paper to JJ, "How you doing, Baby-Doll?"

"Better now that I'm back on what I'm good for. Give me the number, JJ." Rattling off the numbers, Morgan heard the typing in the background as she put them in the tracker. "Phone is on and on the move."

"Send the results to Hotch and Rossi. They're the ones going after him."

"All right, JJ, I want you to bring up Search and the Internet history on the computer and look for keywords using the site's name or possibly one of the victim's name."

"All right, bringing them up." JJ was typing in the search boxes within a minute. Morgan watched for a minute before going back and watching the forensics.

"Garcia, I need a password to access some of the files."

"All right, give me a minute, the tracker's on, waiting for his cell phone." JJ heard rapid typing in the background and watched at the computer alerted to someone gaining access. "Gotcha. His files are open, but he has a system that warns him when people are breaking into the computer. It's sending a message to his phone."

"I never heard of that before."

"The military has been testing it. Several rich people have been developing them for their personal computer."

"Nice security boost. Nice warning system for Goodman also; he knows that we're here and know about him."

* * *

Short, but this was the right place to stop. For this chapter.

Review please.


	7. The truth will escape

D: I do not own _Criminal Minds_ or _Veronica Mars_.

I'm sorry for the long wait. I have new life in this story, and hope to finish it soon.

* * *

It was late, but she needed to see him. Veronica rang the door knob four times before he ended up at the door. "V, what's wrong?" Logan asked.

"A lot is wrong, but now I need to talk to you." She walked in and waited for him to close the door. "How much do you know about Goodman?"

"I know about the child molestations. Why?"

"Wasn't someone helping the Fitzpatricks run a few of their things?"

"Dr. Griffith was. Stuff was still getting in after he was murdered though." Logan looked at her. "Goodman took over?"

"He was hiding a few people in his house. Runners for drugs and guns were found."

"There's something else?"

"Someone else."

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"Do we have anything more on Goodman?" Reid asked Prentiss, walking in with takeout for the team. Rossi and Hotch were driving around; going on a lead Garcia gave them ten minutes ago.

"He had Cassidy Casablancas listed as his son and said he was still supporting him due to emotional distress," JJ brought up.

"And their names were Donald and Gregory Gao-Doymow. He was filing taxes, claiming to be living off of a trust fund," Morgan added.

"I can't find the room where he would have had intercourse with these kids. Either he kept the area very clean…" Reid started.

"Or he used the bed where Cassidy was. What if he was trying to find a replacement? Cassidy may be getting too old for him," Prentiss finished.

"He's kept this kid alive for five years. He's not going to replace him that quickly."

"Temporary replacements. He has to keep Cassidy alive. If Cassidy shows up dead five years after everyone thinks he's dead, then they start searching around. Especially if he had signs of abuse and confinement. He's not as excited by Cassidy, but still uses him," Reid joined up.

"Cassidy would know his whole operation. Goodman may go back after him," JJ mentioned.

"The sheriff has two from patrol on guard. Veronica's also heading back as soon as she's convinced two others to join her. That should be enough protection," Reid noted.

"Who is she bringing?" Prentiss asked.

"Dick Casablancas, the brother and Logan Echolls, an old friend," Reid supplied.

"Is this a good idea? Having the brother around someone he thought was dead," JJ thought aloud.

"Veronica thinks that he may be helpful."

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"I didn't think you wanted to talk to me at one am in the morning, Ronnie," Dick mentioned as they headed to the hospital. Logan was in the passenger's seat as she brought him along to get Dick. "Could you have least waited until the morning to wake me up?"

"I think you will be happy and sad at the same time that I woke you up."

"Am I sad that you woke me up?"

"I think you'll be sad about something else."

"Dick, she didn't tell me what it was." Dick raised an eyebrow at Logan. "Okay, she mostly told me about what was going on." Veronica pulled into the hospital parking lot and led them in the back way. "Okay, can we know who the someone is now?"

"Showing is much better than telling. Besides, I can get some more information out of him and I was hoping more friendly people around him would help." She showed her ID to the two agents standing guard at the door. They nodded and let them in.

Cassidy sat up at the three people coming in. He just stared as he saw Dick and Logan brought in. "Beav?" Dick choked, moving a couple of steps closer.

"Five years and you still remember that name instead." Dick just laughed as he hugged him in the bed.

"Veronica, would you please explain this?" Logan asked.

"Goodman had him locked up at his place."

"Goodman?" Dick raised his head at this. He looked back at Cassidy. "Woody was behind this?" He nodded.

"Woody was behind a lot more than we thought." _It's a little early, but…_

"What are you talking about?" Dick asked.

"We figured out that Cassidy couldn't have planted the bomb on the bus. Buses were searched before and he couldn't plant it during the field trip," Logan revealed.

"What? If he didn't do it, who did?"

"Goodman," Veronica stated.

"He had opportunity," Logan started.

"And motive, his world was about to come crumbling down. Thanks to Peter and Marcos."

"They were trying to get others to join in on the charges they were filing. They were talking to me. I tried to get them to stop, but they wouldn't understand," Cassidy added.

"Woody knew?"

He nodded. "He was figuring with them going around to only certain ones. He forced me to tape the meeting they had with me."

"You e-mailed it to him," Veronica asked. Cassidy nodded. "I need to know everything Goodman did. Did you take credit for all of his things?"

"Yeah, he said if I didn't take credit, he would hurt someone each time."

"Why did you jump off the roof?" Dick asked.

"I figured if I was dead, he wouldn't hurt anyone and I would be free of him. Instead, I ended up with him for five years."

"You didn't know he would be there. You thought he was on the plane," Logan said, somewhat reassuringly.

"I never escaped him. After I left little league, he would be come over and he would follow me everywhere."

"Why didn't you tell anybody?"

"No one would believe me, and no one cared."

"We do now," Dick muttered, bringing him closer and telling him about his stint in pro surfing. Logan commented on several other people that Cassidy asked about. Veronica nodded and added when needed.

Her phone rang just as they were settling down for a nap. "Mars."

"Goodman will be heading your way. The last victim wasn't met with and he hasn't been spotted," Hotch informed.

"Does he have anyone helping him? The runners, those he had around them, someone that believes their story and would be sympathetic?"

"We're not finding anyone, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have something on him already to deal with anything that gets in his way," Prentiss noted.

"Was it mentioned he had a weapon?"

"No, but we want to be sure. Veronica, if the doctor gives the okay, move Cassidy to a more secure location. The police station would be the best, but any place with electronic security would also work," Morgan added.

Before she could answer, the lights started to flicker. "I may not be able to do anything." Just after that, they died. Screams started filling up the area. "Power's out; doctors will be occupied."

"The power went out? That may be Goodman's doing," Reid postured.

"Veronica, get him out now," Rossi ordered.

"Yes sir." Veronica walked back in to see them shaking their heads and standing up. Cassidy remained asleep. "We need to get Cassidy out of here. Goodman may be the one behind the outage." Logan nodded and helped Dick get Cassidy up. Veronica check the guards posted at the door. "We're moving the patient. Be ready to shoot," she ordered. "Guards?"

Logan came out in front of Dick and Cassidy, who was rubbing his eyes. "What's wrong with them?" he whispered. The closest one had his eyes closed, and he didn't seem to be breathing. Logan tapped him on the shoulder. The simple tap caused the body to fall down, revealing a gun shot wound to the back of the head.

* * *

Cliffhanger, because I didn't know when to stop.

I'm sorry for the clichéd meeting, so I felt that the dead guards would help the story get back an edge.

Review please. Thank you for reading.


	8. Headlights

Disclaimer: I don't own the shows portrayed in this fanfic.

I should have said this before. I am very, very sorry I took so long getting this and the last chapter out. The muses changed. Into muses for other shows. They haven't changed back. I clobbered a _Chuck _and_ White Collar_ muse together and hope it'll stay together to get this out.

So, if you see a Neal or a _receives a glare from the other person_ …. nevermind.

* * *

Veronica took lead. "Logan, Dick, take their service weapons. Logan, back of us. Dick, secure Cassidy. Follow me." She took off the safety on her gun and heard them do the same. One thing about Neptune, most if not all knew about holding and firing a gun.

She took the farthest stairs and walked them down. She had memorized the route from the room to the parking structure. Her car was close to the stairs and she could get them out before whoever was after them could get to them. Nurses and doctors were running around them; no one tried to stop them as they made their way to the underground garage. It was severely dark, with emergency lights not giving enough to make their way around.

"Flashlight, anyone?" she muttered. Both answered negatively, so she pulled out her cell and manipulated it to stay lit while she crept along to find her car. Logan had followed her example by pulling out his phone to lit the way for the others while Dick kept both hands on the gun. Cassidy kept shooting looks into the shadows as they walked along.

She passed by a familiar van when gunshots started ringing out. Everyone ducked and ran between the van and its adjoining car. There were a few more shots and one hit the car just above Veronicas head, showering sparks. She tried shooting twice at the direction and didn't hit the person. She took off the light on her cell, Logan followed suit.

No one did anything for a couple of minutes. Veronica saw shadows a few times and pointed that way. They disappeared before she had them in better sights. She fished out her keys and handed them to Dick. She whispered, "Get Cassidy out of here. I'm driving a Ford Taurus, silver. Keep going down the aisle, it's down there." Dick nodded and kept a hold of Cassidy while they moved quickly down.

Logan noticed a shadow over to his right and he motioned to her what he was planning to do. She nodded and slowly moved the other way, flanking the brothers as they headed to her car. There were two shots in the direction that Logan had went, but she didn't hear any cries of pain. She decided on a distraction. "You can't run forever, Goodman," she yelled, moving behind a pillar from gunshots.

"You underestimate me, Veronica," a voice to her back left answered back. She looked quickly, but the lights weren't shining that way and she couldn't see anyone.

"We know about your connections to the gangs. The FBI isn't going to be the only one on your case," she shouted back.

"And I don't think many gangs are going to be so willing to work with a child molester once that gets out," Logan fired off. She chanced a look. There was one shadow standing fifteen feet away to her right. Logan didn't sound as close, and the other two should have made it to the car by now, so she shot at the shadow. A grunt of pain and it falling told her she hit her target, but she moved in case they tried to shoot back.

"You would be surprised about what money will make people ignore," Goodman taunted, "I was helping them get their merchandise into the country." She looked for shadows and saw two just about where her car was. There was another shadow just feet from the first two. Veronica couldn't take a shot without proof it wasn't Logan.

"How can you help them now? The police know about you. Can't fake another death," Logan threw out, "Even if you could, people would be suspicious around Neptune. Not to mention other port towns."

Goodman decided to end the little debate. The night vision goggles that he was wearing gave him an edge in taking out the three unneeded persons and grabbing the last one. He could kill Cassidy here, but he had become attached. Dangerous yes, but it was something he could deal with, having the right connections. Cassidy was one he cherished, and he'll be dead before he gave him up willingly.

Dick was shielding him between the cars and his own body. Not wanting any unnecessary drama, knocking him out with a tranquilizer and quickly covering Cassidy with a gun and a gloved hand over the mouth were more than enough. "Walk with me, Cass," he uttered, pulling him up and holding him beside his body.

He made it about halfway to a van waiting for him before Logan stepped out with his gun pointed at Goodman. Cassidy slightly shifted from beside to in front, with the arm moving to place him in a very slight chokehold, just to hold. "It's over, Woody," he proclaimed, leveling the gun at his head.

He moved the gun to rest against Cassidys head. The silent threat hung in the air until a sound broke the silence. Two cars were driving in the garage close to the three. The headlights blinded Goodman, who threw up his non-gun hand to take off the goggles. The agents piled out of one head while two deputies and Keith flew out of the other one. Cassidy was pulled away by Logan, who quickly walked him over to the sheriffs car. "Keith," he nodded.

"Logan," he returned, pointing his gun straight at the man in front of him. "Anybody else that is working with Goodman, come out now with your hands up."

"I shot one," Veronica reported, coming out from behind her pillar with her hands up. She moved quickly before seeing Dick lying on the ground. A quick detour and she was pulling out the dart and checking vitals. "Heartbeat's strong. Breathing is normal," she added.

"A couple of doctors are staying around for patients that aren't in critical need of powered equipment. We can get him checked out," Keith mentioned walking over while his deputies handcuffed the man and headed for the other suspect. He, along with Morgan, helped support Dick over to the stairs. The other agents ran a quick search with Hotch motioned to Veronica.

_He's angry, very angry._ She thought as he opened his mouth. He questioned, "Why did you use two civilians to help escort and protect the victim?"

"The guards were dead. To go ahead by myself would have been suicidal and Goodman would have been able to kidnap him again. I took the best action that would have been necessary for the optimal success of getting the victim out alive."

Hotch didn't like the answer. Examining all the possible ways that she could have protected Cassidy, he realized her point. With the power knocked out to the hospital, security alarms wouldn't have worked and it wouldn't take that long to get through a locked and possibly blocked door. His superiors wouldn't like it, but he saw it as the only possible course for what they were given. "There will be a hearing on what happened. In the meantime, you won't have a gun and you're confined to desk duty," he lamented.

Veronica unclipped her sidearm and quickly checked the safety. She then looked for an evidence back before placing her gun in it and presenting it. He raised an eyebrow. "Well, it is evidence now," she replied. JJ and Prentiss both smirked while Reid looked to be close to laughter. Rossi looked over in Hotchs direction when his face started quirking a smile as well.

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The house they were in front of had streamers, balloons, and a sign that read 'Mac's Birthday party this way' with an arrow pointing at the house. Veronica was the one to knock, waiting for the door to open. Logan shuffled behind her. Dick was fidgeting with his jacket and Cassidy was standing behind him, holding the present they had bought.

"Sure this is a good idea?" Dick asked, again. He wasn't sure that Mac wanted to see the three of them.

"Positive," she replied. She had her hand up to knock again when the door opened. Mac stood with a lemonade in one hand and held the door with the other. "Hi, Mac."

"Veronica," she cheered, grabbing her in a one armed hug, before noticing the people behind her. "Your plus two?"

"Three?" Veronica moved inside with Logan, who muttered a hi. Dick awkwardly hugged him before moving out of the way to show Cassidy, who was holding her present. "Cas?"

"Hi, Mac," he muttered, moving forward, "So I hear you have a fiancee now?"

* * *

Okay, I declare it ended here. It's over, it's finished. And my muses agree, one just headed over to a plot bunny I thought up at one point. The other is thinking about joining him or forcing me to finish the comment fic I had started on.

Again, I am very, very sorry. If I could only genetically combine a few other plot bunnies for stories I have forgotten.


End file.
